The increasing use of high speed digital pulses for communication has led to the use of sensitive components to receive and manipulate such signals This sensitivity has in turn made the components vulnerable to unwanted frequencies transmitted thereto on the same signal paths as the wanted signal frequencies. To solve the problem caused thereby, a number of developments have led to patents that purport to filter out unwanted frequencies utilizing electrical connectors as the vehicle for accommodating appropriate filters having appropriate characteristics. U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,115 granted Sep. 22, 1987, is drawn to a telephone connector with bypass capacitor and teaches the use of capacitors built into the connector to filter out unwanted frequencies from signals carried on signal contacts of a connector. There, the filters are termed "tombstone capacitors" and means are provided for interconnecting such capacitors between the signal paths and grounding paths. As will be discerned, the filters occupy a considerable volume of the total volume of the connector.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,772,224 granted Sep. 20, 1988 represents a modular electrical connector which includes capacitors and additionally, ferrite inductors to provide filtering. As with U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,115, the filter elements take up considerable volume of the device, particularly in terms of the height of the device from a printed circuit board or part of the assembly served by the filtered connector.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a connector having a filter that adds minimally to the packaging dimensions of the connector. It is a further object to provide the combination of multi-pin electrical connector in conjunction with a thin tape filter disposed on the exterior surface of the connector housing in an unobtrusive way, generally conforming to the shape of the exterior surfaces while innocuously traversing openings thereinto. It is a still further object to provide a simple, and readily manufacturable filter construction that adapts itself to use on connectors and other electrical articles such as printed circuit boards and transmission cable.